Saturday, January 29, 2011

U.S. Prohibition Party presidential candidate Jim Hedges of Thompson Township, Pennsylvania took some time to answer a few questions about the Prohibition Party and his 2012 presidential campaign.

The Prohibition Party is the third oldest existing political party in the United States, having been established in 1869. It reached its height of popularity during the late 19th century. The party heavily supported the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which banned the sale of alcohol, and resulted in the US period known as Prohibition (1919–33). It was repealed in 1933. The party has declined since this period, but has continued to nominate candidates for the presidential election.

In 2003, the party split into two factions. Preacher Gene Amondson and perennial candidate Earl Dodge were nominated for the presidency by their respective factions. After Dodge’s death in 2007, the party reunified and named Amondson as its sole presidential nominee for 2008. During the election, Amondson was interviewed by Wikinews. He died in 2009, leaving an opening in the party for 2012.

Jim Hedges is a longtime Prohibition activist, who holds the distinction of the first individual of the 21st century (and the first since 1959) to be elected to a political office under the Prohibition Party banner. In 2001, he was elected as the Thompson Township tax assessor, and was re-elected to the post in 2005. He served until his term expired in 2010. Hedges declared his intent to run for the Prohibition Party presidential nomination on February 18, 2010. This marks his first run for the presidency.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Michael Ignatieff, the frontrunner in the Liberal leadership race, said that Israel committed a war crime when it bombarded the Lebanese village of Qana in July.

“This is consistent with the anti-Israeli position that has been taken with virtually all of the candidates of the Liberal leadership, and I don’t think it’s helpful or useful,” said Harper, who has refused to back down from his comment. “I think we all remember last summer when the Liberals were making all these anti-Israeli comments.”

Harper told reporters that the only two of the eight Liberal leadership candidates who had distanced themselves from such remarks at the time were Joe Volpe and Scott Brison.

Ignatieff said yesterday that “it would be up to international bodies to determine whether Israel had committed war crimes at Qana.” He also said he thought both sides in the conflict were guilty of crimes against civilians and that it was “disgraceful for Harper to suggest the Liberals were anti-Israeli”.

“Canadians deserve a Prime Minister that helps Canadians from all communities to find a common language in which we can speak about difficult issues together,” Ignatieff said. “All communities in Canada have a right to contribute to the public debate about where Canada’s national interest lies but no community has the right to determine what can and cannot be said.” “And no Prime Minister has the right to say that anyone who voices criticism of Israel is an enemy of Israel.”

Liberal MP Ariela Cotler, whose husband Irwin Cotler is supporting Bob Rae’s campaign, announced that she has quit the party over Ignatieff’s assertion that Israel committed war crimes. Ignatieff lacks “moral integrity” and accused him of “sacrificing the truth for personal political gains in the upcoming leadership election.” She said she “and many of her friends” are no longer planning to attend the Liberals’ December leadership convention in Montreal, Ariela Cotler said on Friday, in a letter to the editor in the National Post.

Ignatieff’s comment last week has also cost him the co-chair of his Toronto campaign, MP Susan Kadis, who withdrew her support from his leadership bid on Wednesday.

Canadian Jewish groups criticized the candidate for his comments. Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker, said Thursday that Ignatieff’s statement was “upsetting and disappointing.”

Bob Rae, commenting on the PM’s remarks, said it is dangerous “to suggest there is a pro-Israel party in Canada and an anti-Israel party in Canada.”

“It’s untrue. It’s a big lie. It’s a big smear. And it isn’t going to work on me. And if he thinks he can get away with it, he’s sadly mistaken,” Mr. Rae said. “It’s just a basically thoughtless, deeply divisive thing to say, and I think it’s something we have to put a stop to right now. That’s it. We cannot carry on politics in this country like this. It will not work. It divides Canadians. It’s something for which he should be thoroughly embarrassed.”

Stéphane Dion, one of the leadership candidates, said the Prime Minister insulted everyone who wanted to see a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Lebanon.

“He is insulting all the people that legitimately thought that the solution was a ceasefire. And these people are not anti-Israel. The vast majority of them, they thought that the best way to help a friend was to request a ceasefire,” Mr. Dion said. “I will not allow the Prime Minister to distort what was said in so shameful a way.”

Gerard Kennedy, another leadership candidate, described Mr. Harper’s “brand of politics as creating divisions within the country and diminishing Canada’s reputation” abroad. He said it was unfair and unacceptable to brand the Liberal Party as anti-Israel, and damaging to the quality of public life in the country.

Mr. Ignatieff said his initial comments on Qana were “ripped flagrantly out of context.”

Mr. Ignatieff said he’s accepted a Jewish group’s invitation to visit the Middle East next month to discuss longterm peace solutions, and will meet with the Israeli prime minister as well as Palestinian leaders.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that biathlete Olga Pyleva, Russian Federation, has been excluded from the XX Olympic Winter Games after failing an anti-doping test carried out by the IOC. This is the first instance of an athlete being ejected from the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Pyleva, 30, tested positive for carphedon, a prohibited substance, on February 13 after the women’s 15 km individual, biathlon event, in which she won the silver medal.

ITAR-TASS News Agency reports that Pyleva tested positive for cordedon, a stimulant banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The substitute, phenotropil, was prescribed by her doctors following an ankle injury according to Nikolai Durmanov, head of the Russian Anti Doping Committee.

The IOC determined that Pyleva would be disqualified from the 15km Women’s Individual Biathalon, would be excluded from the remainder of the XX Olympic Winter Games and would have her Olympic accreditation immediately withdrawn.

The IOC routinely performs pre and post event tests for a broad array of illegal substances. For each individual sport, the top five finishers plus two random finishers are tested. So far the IOC has conducted 400 of the expected 1,200 tests to be done at these games.

Under IOC rules, Olympians that test positive for a banned substance are considered guilty regardless of circumstances.

Martina Glagon of Germany, who finished with a Bronze medal, will be awarded the Silver. Albina Akhatova, Pyleva’s Russian teammate will get the Bronze.